Bowed stringed instruments, such as the instruments of the violin family (e.g., violins, violas, cellos, etc.), may include, among other things, tensioned strings, a bridge, a fingerboard, a hollow body, and a bow stick. The bow stick may have natural or synthetic horse hair, which may be moved over the instrument's strings to set the strings into vibration to produce sound. The sound of the vibrating strings may be amplified through the hollow body, and then projected through openings on either side of the bridge. The pitch of the sound may be changed by changing the effective length of the strings, i.e., by pressing certain portions of the strings against the fingerboard.
Each finger of the player's hand is used to control the various aspects of tone production with the bow stick. The path and placement of the bow stick, as well as the amount of pressure being applied to the strings with the bow stick, influence the type and quality of the sound produced by the instrument. For example, movement of the bow stick at a ninety-degree angle across the strings generally results in the production of clear tones. In addition, fine control of the bow stick pressure generally affords greater precision in the articulation of the produced tones. Effective control over the path, placement, and pressure of the bow stick are generally dependent upon achieving a proper bow hold.
It is often difficult for players, particularly beginner and intermediate players, of bowed stringed instruments to learn how to properly hold the bow stick. For example, a proper bow hold typically involves the use of all five fingers, each having a different position and task. As such, a proper bow hold may be complex, and may not come naturally to some players. In addition, student bow sticks often do not have well-defined ridges against which a player's fingers may anchor. Moreover, many student bow sticks are manufactured out of materials other than wood, such as metal-reinforced fiberglass. These materials may be heavier than wood, and may give student bow sticks a very smooth surface that is difficult to handle. Thus, student bow sticks may be more difficult to control than traditional bow sticks, thereby making it more difficult to learn how to play bowed stringed instruments.